Michael Gerrity
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Articles by Michael Gerrity
U.S. Home Sellers Dwarf Buyers by a Record 63 Percent in September
The U.S. housing market is increasingly tilted in favor of buyers, with the number of home sellers outnumbering prospective buyers by 62.6% in September 2026, the widest gap in records dating to 2013, according to a new report from Redfin. The imbalance, which widened from 56.9% in August, marks the fourth consecutive month the gap has reached a record, as buyer demand weakened and the number of homes available for sale climbed.
St Barts Luxury Home Market Draws Global Wealth
St. Barts recorded more than 70 residential sales in 2025 at an average price of about €6 million, as wealthy buyers from North America, Europe and South America competed for a limited stock of luxury villas on the French Caribbean island. Transaction volume eased from an estimated 83 deals in 2024, but activity held up against a weaker backdrop for prime property markets worldwide, according to the St Barts Luxury Market Digest 2026 / 2027 published by Hamaka | Knight Frank.
U.S. Homebuyers Pull Back as Mortgage Rates Climb
U.S. home prices continued to rise in August 2026, but the housing market is losing momentum as higher mortgage rates push buyers to the sidelines and expose widening differences between regions. Single-family home prices increased 1.8% from a year earlier in August, up from 1.6% in July, according to Cotality's latest Home Price Index. But prices fell 0.1% from July, and the number of major metropolitan areas recording negative three-month price momentum climbed to 31 from 19 a month earlier.
Greater Palm Beach Luxury Home Market Sets Record as Wealth Continues to Flow In
Palm Beach County's luxury housing market has already broken its annual record for $10 million-plus home sales, underscoring the resilience of South Florida's high-end market even as elevated mortgage rates weigh on more conventional buyers. The county recorded 170 sales of homes priced at $10 million or more through August 2026, surpassing the previous full-year record of 169 set in 2025, according to August 2026 data from Miami Realtors.
U.S. Mortgage Rates Hit 7.28 Percent in October, a 3-Year High
According to Freddie Mac, U.S. mortgage rates surged to their highest level in nearly three years on October 1, 2026, adding fresh pressure to a housing market already constrained by elevated borrowing costs and weakening demand. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 7.28% on Thursday, up from 7.03% a week earlier and 6.34% a year ago, Freddie Mac said. The increase was the largest weekly jump in roughly four years. The 15-year fixed rate climbed to 6.60% from 6.42%.
U.S. Home-Flipping Profits Shrink in 2026, Investors Face Narrower Margins
The U.S. home-flipping business continued to lose some of its financial appeal in the second quarter as investors completed more deals than in the first three months of the year but generated smaller profits on each transaction. Investors flipped 77,991 single-family homes and condominiums in the second quarter, representing 6.2% of all U.S. home sales, according to a newly released report from property-data provider ATTOM.
Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Accelerates as Tourism Demand Grows
Asia-Pacific hotel investment accelerated in the first half of 2026 as resilient travel demand, rising room rates and a shrinking development pipeline strengthened the sector's appeal to investors, according to CBRE. Hotel transactions reached about $8 billion in the six months through June, 21% above the year-earlier period, with Japan, mainland China and South Korea leading activity.
Architecture Firms Remain Under Pressure as August Billings Decline
U.S. architecture firms continued to operate in a challenging business environment in August, with billings declining for another month as high financing costs and persistent inflation weighed on new project activity. The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) registered 47.2 in August 2026, below the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction.
AI Will Reshape U.S. Office Jobs More Than Erase Them
Artificial intelligence is poised to change the composition of U.S. office work more than it is to erase a large share of those jobs, according to a CBRE Research report published this month. CBRE's analysis, which applied occupational scores from researchers Sam Manning and Tomás Aguirre to office-using industries, found that only 5% of the office-using workforce is highly vulnerable to AI displacement. Another 18% is highly adaptive and positioned to use the technology to expand output.
Tokyo Tops Global Prime Property Index as Luxury Home Prices Jump 51 Percent
Prime residential prices across the world's luxury housing markets rose at a slightly faster clip in the second quarter of 2026, led by an extraordinary rebound in Tokyo, even as Canada, mainland China and parts of Australasia remained under pressure. Knight Frank's Prime Global Cities Index, which tracks high-end home values in local currency across a 47-city basket, showed prices up 2.6% in the 12 months through June 2026.
Fed Raises Rates as Iran War Continues to Fuel Price Inflation
The Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates for the first time in three years is adding fresh pressure to the U.S. housing market, increasing the cost of borrowing for consumers while adding to already severe affordability challenges. Higher Fed rates can push up borrowing costs for products such as home-equity lines of credit and other variable-rate loans, while expectations for persistently higher interest rates can keep fixed mortgage rates elevated.
Branded Residences Set for Major Global Expansion
The global branded residences market is entering a new phase of expansion, with development increasingly moving beyond traditional gateway cities into coastal, island, mountain and other lifestyle destinations, according to Knight Frank's Global Branded Residence Survey 2026. Knight Frank says the sector has expanded sharply over the past decade, with the number of global branded residence schemes rising from 354 in 2015 to 903 at the end of 2025.
Shoppers Are Tired of Being Predicted in 2026, Physical Stores Have an Opening
U.S. e-commerce hit a record 16.9% of total retail sales in the first quarter of 2026, according to Census Bureau data compiled by JLL. Physical stores still account for more than four-fifths of consumer spending. "The question is not whether stores remain important but how they can create distinctive value alongside increasingly sophisticated digital channels," JLL Design wrote in Resetting the Retail (Algo) Rhythm.
Florida's Luxury Housing Market Is Pulling Away From the Rest of America
According to Redfin, Florida's luxury housing market is emerging as one of the strongest pockets of the 2026 U.S. residential market, with Miami and Tampa recording the nation's fastest gains in high-end home prices among the 50 most populous U.S. metros, while West Palm Beach posted the biggest increase in luxury sales nationwide.
Greater Palm Beach Area Residential Sales Surge as Inventory Shrinks
Palm Beach County's residential property market accelerated in July 2026, with sales climbing for an 11th straight month as shrinking inventory, strong cash demand and higher prices fueled a surge in transaction volume. Home sales across Palm Beach County rose 15% from a year earlier to 2,250 in July, according to monthly statistics released by Miami Realtors.
U.S. Data Center Boom Hits a New Constraint in 2026: The Political Will to Build
The U.S. data-center industry is building capacity at a record pace. It still isn't building fast enough. Surging demand from artificial-intelligence and cloud-computing companies has pushed the market into an unusual position: Developers are adding unprecedented amounts of new capacity, yet available supply continues to shrink as customers lease new space almost as quickly as it comes online.
Foreign Buyers Pull Back From U.S. Housing Market in 2026
Foreign buyers sharply reduced their purchases of U.S. existing homes over the past year, spending $45.3 billion as high prices, limited inventory and a broader decline in international travel weighed on demand.
U.S. Homebuyers Must Wait Until Mid-2027 for Mortgage Rate Relief
Fannie Mae is now predicting 30-year fixed mortgage rates will average 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2026 and hold at that elevated level through the first half of 2027, according to the mortgage-finance giant's August Housing Forecast, released this week by its Economic and Strategic Research Group. The revision marks a sharp increase from the forecast issued just a month earlier.
U.S. Lumber Prices Hit 4-Year High as Middle East War Adds to Construction Costs
Lumber prices have climbed to their highest level in four years this summer, creating an unusual squeeze for the U.S. housing industry: demand for homes and remodeling is weakening, yet the cost of a key construction material is rising. The Random Lengths framing-lumber composite reached $535 per thousand board feet on July 24, 2026, up from $435 a year earlier and its highest level since 2022, according to Natural Resources Canada, which tracks the benchmark using Random Lengths data.
U.S. Homebuyers Retreat as July Housing Activity Nears Record Low
Property broker Redfin reports the U.S. housing market is tilting further toward buyers, but not because Americans are suddenly being flooded with homes they can afford. Instead, the market is being reshaped by a more consequential force: the buyers themselves are disappearing. The number of U.S. homebuyers fell to an estimated 966,752 in July 2026, the lowest level on record, according to Redfin. Buyer demand declined 2.5% from June, while the number of sellers fell just 0.3% to 1,462,921.
California, Texas and Florida Lead $279 Billion U.S. Remodeling Market in 2026
California, Texas and Florida accounted for more than one-fifth of U.S. remodeling activity in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the outsized role of the nation's largest housing markets even as higher costs and interest rates begin to weigh on spending growth. California led the country with an estimated $22.2 billion in remodeling activity, representing 8% of the national market, according to the National Association of Home Builders' quarterly State Projections of Remodeling report.
U.S. Mortgage Rates Rise for Fifth Week as Iran War Adds to Inflation Pressure
U.S. mortgage rates continued to climb this week, adding pressure to homebuyer affordability as the housing market adjusts to elevated borrowing costs and renewed inflation risks stemming in part from the war involving the U.S. and Iran. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.69% for the week ended Aug. 6, 2026 from 6.66% a week earlier and 6.63% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS).
Asia-Pacific Commercial Investment Spikes 27 Percent in Mid-2026
Asia Pacific commercial real estate investment activity accelerated in the first half of 2026, rising 27% year-over-year, with office transactions climbing 29% and leasing momentum improving across key markets, according to CBRE's mid-year regional outlook released Thursday. Most sectors and markets recorded gains. Singapore led the rebound in investment volumes, while activity improved in Hong Kong and began to stabilize in mainland China.
Despite a Hot Las Vegas Summer, Its Housing Market Cools in July
The Las Vegas housing market showed early signs of moderation in July, with home prices retreating from recent records while sales activity remained relatively stable despite elevated mortgage rates and a gradual increase in available inventory. According to a report released this week by Las Vegas Realtors, the median price of an existing single-family home sold through the local Multiple Listing Service reached $480,000 in July 2026.
Mortgage Rates Hit Year Highs as Iran War Fuels Economic Uncertainty
U.S. housing demand weakened further in late July 2026 as rising mortgage rates, persistent inflation concerns, and growing economic uncertainty tied to the Iran conflict pushed more prospective buyers to the sidelines. Mortgage rates climbed to their highest level in more than a year, reaching 6.85% at the end of last week, as financial markets continued to navigate geopolitical risks, volatile oil prices, and concerns over the broader economic impact of escalating tensions in the Middle East.
U.S. Companies Push Return-to-Office Mandates as AI Reshapes the Future of Workspaces
U.S. companies are accelerating the push for employees to return to the office, but many are falling short on the investments needed to make workplaces more attractive, competitive and adaptable, according to CBRE's 2026 Office Occupier Sentiment Survey. The survey found that 89% of office-using organizations now require employees to work from the office at least three days per week, up from 78% a year earlier.
Seoul Office Market Enters Supply-Driven Reset in 2026
Seoul's office market is entering a new phase as a wave of new downtown office completions pushes vacancy rates to their highest level in more than four years, prompting institutional investors to become increasingly selective even as rents continue to climb, according to a new report from JLL. The real estate services firm said the capital's Grade A office vacancy rate rose to 6.6% in the second quarter, surpassing the market's estimated 5% equilibrium level for the first time since early 2022.
Fed Holds Rates, Keeping Mortgage Rates High Amid Oil and Rising Iran War Risks
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, signaling continued caution as policymakers balance solid economic growth against lingering inflation pressures fueled by energy costs and geopolitical uncertainty. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to maintain the federal funds target range at 3½% to 3¾%, leaving borrowing costs at their highest levels of the current policy cycle as officials assess whether inflation is moving sustainably toward the Fed's 2% target.
U.S. Homeowners Sit on Record $17.9 Trillion Equity Windfall in 2026
America's homeowners are sitting on an unprecedented reservoir of housing wealth, reinforcing household balance sheets while simultaneously deepening one of the housing market's biggest structural constraints: few owners can afford to give up the ultra-low mortgage rates they secured in recent years.
Miami a Victim of Its Own Success, Now America's Second-Costliest Region
South Florida's rapid post-pandemic ascent has produced a landmark shift in U.S. living costs--and left Miami a victim of its own success. For the first time in the data series, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area ranks as the nation's second-most expensive major metro, surpassing the New York-Newark-Jersey City region and trailing only the San Francisco Bay Area.
Asia's Hotel Market Stages Powerful Rebound in 2026
Asia Pacific's hotel market is experiencing its strongest resurgence since before the pandemic, as investors pour billions of dollars into hospitality assets amid improving tourism demand, stronger operating performance and renewed confidence in long-term regional growth. Hotel transactions across Asia Pacific reached $6.8 billion in the first half of 2026, a 54% increase from the same period last year, according to data from JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.
Greater Miami Area Resdiential Sales Post Strongest June in Three Years
Miami-Dade County's housing market extended its recovery in June, posting its strongest June sales performance in three years as total existing-home transactions climbed for a 10th consecutive month, underscoring resilient demand despite elevated mortgage rates. Total existing home sales rose 14.3% from a year earlier to 2,107 transactions, according to June 2026 data released by the Miami Association of Realtors.
Wall Street's Retreat From Homebuying Reshapes U.S. Housing Market
A proposed federal crackdown on institutional investors purchasing single-family homes has yet to take effect, but the housing market is already showing signs of a shift. New data from Cotality shows that buying activity by the largest residential investors -- companies owning 1,000 or more properties -- declined almost immediately after Washington signaled plans to restrict large-scale investor participation in the housing market.
NYC Prime Retail Tightens to Record Lows as Landlords Regain Pricing Power
Availability across New York City's prime retail corridors fell to a record low of 11.9% in the second quarter of 2026, according to JLL's Prime Market Statistics report released this month. The figure is the lowest quarterly rate since tracking began in 2017, with the total count of available prime spaces dropping to 164 -- down 24 quarter-over-quarter and 31 year-over-year.
Las Vegas Home Prices Hold Record High as Sales Rebound Amid Tight Supply
Greater Las Vegas' housing market showed renewed momentum in June 2026, with home sales accelerating from a year earlier while prices remained near historic highs, according to new data from the Las Vegas Realtors. The median price of an existing single-family home sold through the local Multiple Listing Service reached $490,000 in June, matching the record set in May and rising 1% from June 2025.
U.S. Foreclosures Are Back: Homes Selling at a 27 Percent Discount
The era of ultra-low mortgage rates may be over, but a new opportunity is emerging for buyers willing to accept more complexity: foreclosed homes selling at deep discounts. Foreclosure listings have climbed to their highest level in six years, offering some buyers a rare chance to purchase homes below market value.
American Voters Cross Party Lines to Back Federal Housing Affordability Measures
Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support federal efforts to address the nation's housing affordability crisis, underscoring a rare area of bipartisan agreement in an otherwise polarized political environment.
America's 250th Birthday Drives Record 72.2 Million Holiday Travelers
The United States is heading into one of its largest-ever Independence Day travel periods, with 72.2 million Americans expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the July 4th, 2026 holiday window. This occurs as the country marks the 250th anniversary of independence with nationwide celebrations, expanded public events, and record demand for parks and fireworks displays.
Iran Conflict Reshapes Washington's Political Landscape as Ceasefire Teeters
The agreement was supposed to mark the end of a war. Instead, it may have signaled the beginning of a new phase of one. The U.S. military struck multiple targets in Iran on Saturday at the direction of President Trump -- the second consecutive night of American airstrikes -- responding first to an Iranian drone attack on the cargo ship Ever Lovely on Thursday, and then to a follow-on drone strike on the Panama-flagged tanker Kiku on Saturday morning.
Life Sciences Office Recovery Gains Momentum in U.S.
The U.S. life sciences industry is showing early signs of a sustained recovery, providing a potential catalyst for one of commercial real estate's most challenged sectors as renewed hiring and venture capital investment begin to restore demand for laboratory space, according to a new report from CBRE.
Cheap-Money Homeownership in America is Over, Time to Face a New Cost Reality
New Morgan Stanley analysis delivers a sobering verdict: America's housing market isn't in a temporary slump--it's locked into a higher-cost, lower-turnover equilibrium that won't revert to the cheap-money conditions of the 2010s. For millions priced out of homeownership, the long-held bet was straightforward: wait out surging prices, elevated rates, and scant inventory, and affordability would eventually normalize. That bet is failing.
Global AI Demand Drives Data Center Crunch, Construction Boom
The global race to build artificial intelligence infrastructure is rapidly outstripping the world's ability to deliver new data center capacity, tightening markets from Northern Virginia to Singapore and driving vacancy rates toward historic lows despite an unprecedented construction boom. Global data center inventory expanded 25% over the past year to 16 gigawatts across the world's 16 largest markets in the first quarter of 2026, according to CBRE's latest Global Data Center Trends report.
California Tech Wealth, Global Capital Fuel Miami's Luxury Housing Boom in 2026
Miami's housing market continued to defy broader national real estate trends in May 2026, posting its ninth consecutive month of annual sales growth as affluent buyers, international investors, and cash purchasers fueled demand across South Florida. Total residential sales in Miami-Dade County rose 7.9% from a year earlier to 2,064 transactions, led by a 10.5% increase in single-family home sales and a 5.4% gain in condominium transactions.
The Fed Holds Rates Steady in Warsh Mid-2026 Debut
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged this week in Kevin Warsh's first meeting as chairman, while signaling a more cautious outlook on future rate cuts and opening the door to the possibility of additional tightening if inflation pressures persist.
AI, Data Centers and Private Credit Spark U.S. Real Estate Investing in 2026
Artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and private credit are emerging as some of the most powerful forces reshaping U.S. real estate investment activity in 2026, according to a new midyear outlook from PwC. In its report, Real Estate and Real Assets: U.S. Deals 2026 Midyear Outlook, PwC argues that the industry is no longer experiencing a traditional cyclical recovery.
Asia-Pacific Luxury Hotel Investment Surges
Luxury hotels across Asia-Pacific are attracting renewed investor attention as capital pours back into the hospitality sector, with transaction activity reaching levels not seen since before the pandemic, according to a new report from JLL. The commercial real estate services firm said luxury hotel transaction volumes across the region climbed 77% between 2017 and 2025, reaching approximately $2.1 billion this year.
Asia's Financial Talent Migration Is Redrawing the Region's Office Market
Asia's office market in 2026 is entering a significant transition as financial institutions increasingly follow talent rather than traditional financial-center dominance, according to a new report from commercial real estate services firm Colliers.
Government Regulations Add More Than $130,000 to Cost of New U.S. Homes
Government regulations now add more than $130,000 to the cost of a newly built single-family home in the United States, underscoring the growing role of compliance costs in the nation's housing affordability crisis. A new study released by the National Association of Home Builders found that federal, state and local regulations account for $131,734 of the price of an average new home, representing 26.4% of the average sales price of $499,500 as of January 2026.
Greater Las Vegas Area Home Prices Hit Record High in May
Southern Nevada home prices climbed to a new record in May 2026 despite a sluggish sales environment, underscoring the resilience of the Las Vegas housing market even as elevated borrowing costs and affordability pressures continue to weigh on transaction volumes. The median price of an existing single-family home sold in May rose to a record $490,000, according to data released Tuesday by Las Vegas Realtors.
Global Property Investors Delay Deals as Middle East War Risk Rises
Global commercial real estate investors are hitting the pause button -- not the exit button -- as rising geopolitical tensions and renewed inflation concerns test a fragile market recovery. Worldwide property investment totaled approximately $230 billion during the first quarter of 2026, according to new research from Savills, representing a seasonally adjusted 5% decline from the previous quarter.
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